From The Other Side
by laxgoal31
Summary: Haymitch's POV. His thoughts during the Games, and also flashbacks to his own experiences in the Hunger Games.
1. Haze

**All rights reserved to Suzanne Collins; I do not own the Hunger Games. Read, review, and enjoy!**

I wake up around noon. No sooner than when I wake up that I realize my head is pounding. I've got a mean hangover. No matter. I go down to the fridge, get another drink, and toss it back. Ah, that's better.

I go and dress in a set of nice clothes, for a change. I can remember that it's Reaping Day. Not much else beyond that. After I'm dressed, I take a seat nearby the door, and toss back some more drinks. Everyone thinks I drink just because I can, but they're wrong. I don't drink for pleasure. I drink to forget.

_He lies there, facing up. Woods surround us; we are alone as far as I can tell. The inky blackness of the sky is above us. The boy says to me, "Please! You don't have to do this!"_

_He begins to crawl away; he's already wounded and can't get up; I can see the fear in his eyes by the light of the fire he had so unwisely built. Why is he so afraid of me? I'm not that much of a monster, am I?_

_I reply to him and say, "Oh, but I do." The punishment from the Gamemakers would be swift if I left him be. With that, I thrust my knife downward into his chest. Blood runs out of his body, and he goes motionless. The cannon sounds. With that, I walk away, the tears flowing from my eyes. _

I'm raised from my drunken, dreaming stupor by someone shaken me roughly. It's my regular chariot driver, Kai. Kai says, "Mr. Abernathy! You must get up! You're already late for the Reaping!"

Oh, right. The Reaping. Like I care. It's the same every year. Every year, two scared, hopeless kids are selected. I try not to become attached to them, but I can never help myself. A part of me always reaches out to them every year. And every year when they die, a part of me dies as well. It never ends.

Kai helps me out to the chariot. I guess I'm pretty drunk. When we reach the District 12 square, I can see the Reaping is already underway.

The mayor is just announcing the District 12 victors of previous Hunger Games. Hey! That's me. I run up to the stage and shout out "Hey, don't forget me!" Though maybe it comes out as "Ey, da fogee muh!"

I don't understand what's happening now; my brain is becoming more clouded by the second. Some subconscious part of my mind is telling me it's because I'm drunk but my primary consciousness is not listening. The crowd is clapping, all these bright lights…I can't take it. Wait, there's someone to hug! No, she pushes me away. I fall back into my chair, and try to adjust to this new scenery. It's hard, that's for sure.

Oh, a name has been called. A scared little girl comes up onstage. But then, wait! Another girl rushes up and throws herself in front of the first girl. What? This bigger girl is volunteering! We haven't had a volunteer in a long time. This girl reminds me of me…

_I was looking forward to the Games. At eighteen, I was in peak physical shape. I had practiced as much as I could, preparing for the Games. I was great with a knife, and strong too. So when Reaping day came for me, I said at the right time, "My name is Haymitch Abernathy and I volunteer as male tribute for District 12."_

_This was met with stunned silence from the crowd. I knew what they were thinking, why would someone ever want to volunteer? Volunteering means certain death. But I knew better. If I won, I would be set for life. I would never ever have to worry about food again, my younger brother and parents would be just fine, and I would be filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment for the rest of my life._

_Man, was I ever wrong about that last part…_

My primary drunken mind takes back over. The young girl is being pulled offstage by an older boy. And now the girl who has volunteered is standing here? Her name is Catno. Catnip? Katniss? I don't know, but she deserves congratulations.

I go over to her, and throw my arm around her. I say, "Look at her. Look at this one! I like her!" She recoils. What am I doing wrong? "Lots of…spunk!" I holler out. And I am suddenly seized by my hatred of the Capitol. I move to the front of the stage. "More than you! More than you!" I point into a camera. There you go, Mr. Capitol.

I keep walking though, and fall off the stage. My last thought before my head hits the ground is: "I wish I had another drink."

**So should I continue...or is this a lost cause.**

**Other stories of mine: The Seventy Fifth Hunger Games, Sharp As A Knife, The Boy With The Bread, The Hunger Games Premiere.  
**


	2. Hope

**I figured I should update this story before I worked on my real fun one, The Seventy Fifth Hunger Games. Alrighty, here's chapter two. Review!**

When I wake up, it is the morning we are due to arrive at the Capitol. I have a vague recollection of someone maybe washing me off in a tub last night but I can't be sure…

So anyway, after breakfast, that girl Katniss turns to me and says, "So, you're supposed to give us advice,"

What a funny girl! I say, "Here's some advice. Stay alive." She's so funny; I start cracking up at her.

The baker boy, Peeta says, "That's very funny." He then hits my glass out of my hand! How dare he! "Only not to us."

This act shakes me out of my drunken stupor, and I punch this insolent brat in the jaw. Now he knows who he's dealing with. But when I turn to reach for my bottle again, Katniss drives her knife into the table, nearly hitting my hand. But this time, oddly, I'm not mad. I'm actually impressed with both of them…

_During the prep week before the Games last year, I could see that it was hopeless. The two kids were underfed, never had training, and simply weak. As usual, I lost my battle not to become attached to them, and was crushed when they both died. On the first day. But now…I have some hope for these two kids standing before me…_

"Well, what's this?" I say. "Did I actually get a pair of fighter's this year?"

These two kids have spirit. Maybe, just maybe, one of them can pull a miracle and win it all…So I make a deal with them. I will stay sober enough to help them as long as they don't interfere with my drinking habits. Already I can feel myself losing the battle of attachment…

So the first day of training for the tributes arrives. I have to get something straight. So I say, 'So, let's get down to business. Training. First off, if you like, I'll coach you separately. Decide now."

"Why would you coach us separately?" Katniss asks.

"Say if you had a secret skill you might not want the other to know about," I say.

Katniss gives Peeta a look. "I don't have any secret skills, Peeta says. "And I already know what yours is, right? I mean, I've eaten enough of your squirrels."

Katniss says, "You can coach us together."

Ok, so now I need to know their skills. "All right, so give me some idea of what you can do," I say.

"I can't do anything," says Peeta. "Unless you count baking bread."

Sorry, I don't. Katniss. I already know you're handy with a knife," I say.

"Not really. But I can hunt," she says. "With a bow and arrow."

Well if she calls that not handy with a knife…I bet she's great with the bow and arrow. "And you're good?" I ask.

"I'm all right," she says.

I get the feeling she's being overly modest. And I'm proved correctly as Peeta sounds off on her for underestimating herself. Hmm. Interesting. Anyway, I tell them that they should save their best skills for their session with the Gamemakers. And Peeta has given me an idea…

"One last thing. In public, I want you by each other's side every minute," I say. They begin to argue, but I continue, "Every minute! It's not open for discussion. You agreed to do as I said! You will be together, you will appear amicable to each other. Now get out. Meet Effie at the elevator at ten for training."

They start to head out the door, looking ticked off. Well, actually, Peeta hangs back. I can't say I wasn't expecting this…

"Haymitch, I've been meaning to ask you something…"

I know what he's saying. "Go for it, kid," I say.

He blinks in surprise. "You know about my feelings for her?"

"It's pretty obvious to me, kid. The way to talk to her, the way you look at her. How you act. Obvious," I say.

He looks taken aback. "Well…I was thinking…would it be beneficial to mention that during my interview? I mean, it would definitely win us some sponsors. And sponsors means that she stays alive."

He's got a point. "But what about you, kid? You don't want to live?"

He suddenly looks about ten years older as he regards me with his eyes. He says to me, "If I live, she dies. So no, I don't want to live."

I seriously have to hold in my tears. Wouldn't do to have the kid see his big, bad, mentor cry. "Ok, I'll help you with this strategy and how to say it at the interview. Only, kid…I just wish that there was some way that both of you could survive…"

He says sarcastically, "Oh yeah. Like that'll ever happen..." And he walks out of the room.

This is a first. Tributes have always traditionally hated each other and never tried to get close to each other. Well, actually, I wasn't the best example of this myself…

_Her name was Leila. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't help but be attracted towards her. Even though we were coached separately, and barely spoke, I still felt something for her. But I am still plagued by these memories even today…_

_Because during the Games, I was hiding up in a tree (I wasn't a bad climber back in the day) when I heard a scream ring out. I recognized Leila's voice. She wasn't just screaming out random words, she was screaming, "Haymitch! Haymitch! Help!"_

_I didn't move. I didn't help. And when I saw her face in the sky that night, I cursed at myself. How selfish was I, to always be looking out for #1, to not move a muscle to help an innocent human being? Someone who had no choice, who didn't want to be here? I didn't want to go on…_

So now, I am determined to help Peeta. He deserves to have his love live. Katniss. These two are the best hope that I have had in my entire career of mentoring. I am going to do everything in my power to help these two survive.

Who knows, I may even sober up for a while…kidding.


	3. Training

**So as usual, thanks for all of the reviews so far. I love reviews, they make my day, so please review!**

It is now late on the third day of training. Peeta and Katniss should be done with their sessions with the Gamemakers by now, so I go and check on them. Peeta is doing fine, but when I knock on Katniss' door, she yells for me to go away. She sounds like she is crying. I don't know what happened, but after arguing with her, I give up and just leave. I'll find out at dinner…which is in about an hour. Leaves me just enough time to hit the bar…

So at dinner, during the main course, I say, "Okay, enough small talk, just how bad were you today?"

Peeta responds, "I don't know that it mattered. By the time I showed up, no one even bothered to look at me. They were singing some kind of drinking song, I think. So, I threw around some heavy objects until they told me I could go."

Not bad. "And you, sweetheart?" I say to Katniss.

"I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers," she says. She sounds pissed.

What?? "You what?" goes Effie.

"I shot an arrow at them. Not exactly at them. In their direction. It's like Peeta said, I was shooting and they were ignoring me and I just…I just lost my head, so I shot an apple out of their stupid roast pig's mouth!" Katniss says with attitude.

"And what did they say?" asks Cinna.

"Nothing. Or I don't know. I walked out after that," Katniss says.

"Without being dismissed?" gasps Effie. She's really taking this hard.

"I dismissed myself," Katniss says.

I say, "Well, that's that." Nothing we can do about it now.

"You think they'll arrest me?" Katniss asks.

"Doubt it. Be a pain to replace you at this stage," I say.

"What about my family?" Will they punish them?"

"Don't think so. Wouldn't make much sense. See they'd have to reveal what happened in the Training Center for it to have any worthwhile effect on the population. People would need to know what you did. But they can't since it's secret, so it'd be a waste of effort. More likely they'll make your life hell in the arena." And that's about the sum of it. I can only hope she has the strength and will to survive…

After dinner, we all go down to view the training scores. I'm expecting Peeta to make about a five and Katniss…hell she'll be lucky if she makes a two.

As faces come up, I mentally review them. The pair from District 2 each score a ten. They look tough. The girl from 5 only gets a four, but something makes me believe that she can't be counted out too easy. I feel a pang of sadness as the little girl from 11's score of seven is flashed onscreen, I hate it whenever a twelve-year old is picked. The male tribute from 11 scores a ten, just like the District 2 pair did. That'll be an interesting matchup.

I come to full alertness when Peeta comes onscreen. He pulls an eight! That's great for him! I turn to him and say, "Way to go, kid!"

And I turn back to the screen when Katniss comes on. Just how bad is she going to do...eleven? ELEVEN? Whoa!

"There must be a mistake. How…how could that happen?" she asks me.

"Guess they liked your temper," I say. They've got a show to put on. They need some players with some heat." I suppose that's it. But whoa, what a score! She's going to get some sponsors, that's for sure.

So the next day at breakfast, it's me, Peeta, and Effie. Katniss hasn't come in yet. I ask Effie, "You think me and the kid here could talk alone?" She shoots me a dirty look and gets up.

Peeta grabs this opportunity to say to me, "Haymitch. If we're going to do this whole declare-my-love-for-Katniss-during-the-interview thing, how are we going to do that if we're being coached together? I mean, when she finds out, number one, she'll be ticked and number two, she could never act well enough for the audience to eat it up."

"It's simple kid," I say.

Just then, Katniss comes in and starts eating and talking. She first says, "So, what's going on? You're coaching us on interviews today, right?"

"That's right," I say. Boy, are they both going to be ticked.

"You don't have to wait until I'm done. I can listen and eat at the same time," she says.

"Well, there's been a change of plans. About our current approach," I say.

"What's that?" She asks.

I say, "Peeta has asked to be coached separately."

Peeta shoots me a look of shock and hate at the same time. Then it changes to one of gratitude as he realizes, it's for the best. Katniss just looks betrayed. She then says, "Good. So what's the schedule?"

I reply, "You'll each have four hours with Effie for presentation and four with me for content," I say. "You start with Effie, Katniss."

So me and Peeta head over to his room. When we're seated comfortably, he asks, "So. What's the plan?"

"Well," I say. "You've got a natural sort of sense of humor and likability. You put people at ease with your attitude and aura. So the idea is, make small jokes and easy banter with Caesar Flickerman. That's the first part.

"And the next part would be…?" he asks.

"The Katniss part. I'm going to secretly ask Caesar to ask you if you have anybody waiting for you back home. He asks most good-looking male tributes this, and I know him pretty well, so it shouldn't be a problem. So when it does, I want you to be vague at first about who's waiting. Keep the audience hanging on to your every word. Make them sympathize with you. After you've kept the audience and Caesar hanging, you finally declare who you're talking about. After that…well…you two should have the most sponsors in history."

"Got it," he says. "So now what do we do?"

"I'm going to get a drink, and then when I come back, we'll practice different scenarios." And I head for the bar.

So when my four hours are up with Peeta, and it's time for Katniss, I'm actually feeling good about Peeta's interview. Hope I feel just the same with Katniss.

But I don't. She's awful. Everything she says comes out abusive and hostile. I want to tear my hair out at her. How is she going to get any sponsors acting like that?

I open up some bottles about halfway through and start with the intoxication. I can't take anymore of her, it's painful. Finally when time is up, I say, "I give up, sweetheart. Just answer the questions and try not to let the audience see how openly you despise them."

Man, she's bad. And tomorrow are the interviews. And the day after that…

The day after that…the Games begin.


	4. Perfect Plan

**Thanks to hungergamesfan51, AJLL, mangalvr, VCullen12, and paramore fanatic for reviewing the last chapter. Here's chapter four!**

It is now the time for the interviews. As the twenty four tributes are preparing to take their places onstage, I say to Katniss and Peeta, "Remember, you're still a happy pair. So act like it." This is crucial as part of me and Peeta's plan to get them sponsors. They need to appear in love.

The audience doesn't have long to wait as Caesar Flickerman comes up onstage. After a few small jokes, the interviews get started.

First up is the girl from District 1, name of Glimmer. She's absolutely perfect in her interview, looking provocative as well. Now, why couldn't Katniss do as well as her…?

On and on with the interviews. Everybody is playing up an angle, just like their mentors have taught them. The boy from 2, ruthless. The girl from 5, elusive. The boy from 11, silent, and hostile. If Katniss was his size, she could get away with that, unfortunately, she's not. And speaking of her, here she is.

"So, Katniss, the Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?"

My heart is pounding with apprehension for her. "The lamb stew," she gasps out.

I smack myself in the head. Why kind of an answer is that? At least the audience thinks she's trying to be funny. I know that she's just being herself.

"The one with the dried plumbs? Oh, I eat it by the bucketful. It doesn't show, does it?" asks Caesar to the audience. Well, at least Katniss is getting some help from Caesar. She's sure going to need it.

"Now, Katniss," he continues. "When you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"

"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" I could kick myself. She's being totally honest, but the audience is eating it up. She's got to be the luckiest tribute I have ever mentored.

"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it. Can't believe I'm wearing this, either. I mean, look at it!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cinna the stylist making a twirling motion with his finger. I'm curious, but then I see Katniss twirl around. When she does so, the audience screams in admiration.

"Oh, do that again!" says Caesar.

She does, and I see Peeta onstage looking at her like a dog might drool over food. I make eye contact with him and silently admonish him to focus.

"Don't stop!" Caesar says to Katniss when she stops twirling.

"I have to, I'm dizzy" she says giggling. Uh oh. She sounds just a bit like a shallow, frilly girl. I hope Peeta's announcement can remedy this.

"Don't worry," Caesar says wrapping an arm around Katniss. "I've got you. Can't have you following in your mentor's footsteps."

WHAT? Everybody starts laughing.

I think, Caesar when I get my heads on you…no I'm actually not that mad. If it will help Katniss get sponsors. I wave away all the cameras and point them back over to Katniss.

The rest of her interview goes pretty well. She comes off as nice enough, but caring about her sister. The audience can relate to that. Her interview finishes, and I'm left thinking that that could have been alot worse.

Next up is Peeta. He's simply great. He does everything I told him to. He's funny, witty, charming. He jokes with Caesar; they do a whole funny sniffing act about something to do with the showers that absolutely brings down the house. Then comes the question that will decide all.

"So, is there anyone waiting at home for our comedian here?"

Come on, kid, I mentally will him. He gives an unconvincing shake of the head. Good, I think. Vague at first.

"Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" asks Caesar.

Peeta goes, "Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping." Good. Vague.

"She have another fellow?" asks Caesar.

"I don't know, but a lot of boys like her," says Peeta. And he told me, this is actually quite true. People do talk about Katniss and many a time has this other friend of hers, Gale, punched them out. From what I gather from Peeta, I can tell that this Gale and Peeta have both had secret affections for Katniss for a while.

"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" asks Caesar.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning…won't help in my case," says Peeta. This is the climax. The revelation is coming.

"Why ever not?" asks Caesar. He's stymied.

Peeta blushes deeply and stutters, "Because…because…she came here with me."

On stage, Katniss blushes even deeper then Peeta and avoids looking at the cameras. Around me, the audience is eating it up. I knew they would, all that jazz about the 'star-crossed lovers'. It's perfect. I mentally congratulate Peeta for his excellent delivery.

After dinner that night, it is time to say goodbye. Effie says her usual awful things, and skips from the room. Now it's my turn.

"Any final words of advice?" asks Peeta.

"When the gong sounds, get the hell out of there. You're neither of you up to the blood bath at the Cornucopia. Just clear out, put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others, and find a source of water," I say. "Got it?" Somehow, I think that they will disobey and run into the thick of things though…

"And after that?" Katniss asks.

"Stay alive," I say. It's as simple as that. And I walk out of the room.

It takes a long time, but I eventually do fall asleep. I'm filled with worry and hope. Hope that maybe one of them can do it, but worry about the fact that as every year, I will have two dead tributes on my hands.

In the morning, I rise to travel to the Games Headquarters. When I walk in the door to the Mentor Facility, I sigh. Nothing has changed over a year. Still the same twelve stations for the mentors to sit at, the same twenty four rooms for the mentors to sleep in (one for the woman and one for the men each), still the gigantic overhead screen in the front of the room that overlooks everything.

I take my place at District 12's allotted station. There are three monitors at this station. The monitor on the left is for the girl tribute, Katniss. The monitor on the right is for the boy, Peeta.

The monitor in the middle is the screen that shows the sponsors that have signed up for our cause, and how much they are willing to donate. How it works is, you click on as many sponsors as you want, and then select an option that says, "Purchasable supplies." When you click on this option, a list of goods comes up, the ones that are in the price range of the number of sponsors (money) that you selected. Of course, the prices go up daily, so it all gets expensive from here.

When I boot up this middle monitor, I see that we have a TON of sponsors! I didn't imagine the love gambit would work quite this well! Excellent! Just for fun, I select all of the sponsors and click on the purchasable supplies option. Whoa! We have so much money, on the first day; I could send a remedy to counter even blood poisoning to my tributes. Of course, I won't be able to later, as the price will only go up…

The giant overhead screen comes on, signaling the imminent start of the Games. This is the same screen that will be shown to the viewers all around Panem. The two monitors at our stations are for looking at our tributes privately. Around me, the other mentors are shushing each other. They don't want to miss the start.

The tribute monitors at my station come online. I check them both out. Standing at her metal circle, Katniss has a hungry gleam in her eye. She can't be thinking…no. I'm panicking now.

But Peeta's got me covered. He makes eye contact with Katniss, and shakes his head at her. He's still shaking when the gong rings out.

I exclaim, "Thank, you Peeta!" The other mentors give me a strange look, but I don't care. The life of one of my tributes has just been saved.

I see Katniss tussle with a boy for a pack, and kick myself. I told her to get out of there! What is she doing?! Suddenly, a knife is sticking out of the boy's back. I hear a man from another mentor station yell out, "Yeah, that's my Clove!" I think his name is Vikus.

Clove throws a knife at Katniss, but Katniss is already running away and the knife lodges in the pack. I breathe a sigh of relief. She's ok for now. Now go find water, I mentally will her.

I check out the other screen. WHAT? Peeta is talking to one of the Career tributes. Talking, not fighting. Back over at the District 2 station, Vikus is going, "What is he doing? Kill him already!"

"Shut up," I snarl at him. "It looks like they're making an alliance."

"Are you crazy? Cato would never ally with a…oh my. You're right."

I am right. Peeta is now allied with the Careers. What is he thinking? What does he hope to accomplish? He disobeys me, runs into the main fight, and now is allied with the most ruthless players of all? The kid is crazy!

The main screen is tuned onto the Careers, and how they are doing. Soon after they finish sorting out their supplies that they had won at the Cornucopia, the anthem plays. The faces of the eleven dead are shown in the sky. Around me, the mentors just look sad and disappointed at the losses of their tributes. Some get up and leave the room. These are the ones whose tributes have both died. That would be Districts 6, 7, and 9. These mentors are done for the year.

I turn back to the main screen. The Careers are arming themselves to hunt. I wish I could send Katniss a message or something, up in her tree. But I can't.

I can only hope that Peeta and the Careers won't ever come near her…

**I couldn't think of how to end it...hope that wasn't too bad. I kind of wrote this chapter in a hurry, hope it doesn't show. Please review and let me know what you think of the story!**

**If you haven't done so already, check out my new story, The Hunger Games Premiere!**


	5. Silent Surveillance

**Thanks to mangalvr, hungergames51, AJLL, VCullen12, paramore fanatic, and especially Wesley for reviewing the last chapter. Wesley, your review was really nice and made me feel good about myself lol. So, here's chapter five, read and review!**

With night upon us and the tributes, the all of the mentors retire to go to sleep. There is an alert system in place to alert a mentor if something noteworthy is happening to their tribute. So with a grudging attitude, I hit the hay (no pun intended on my name) in my bedroom.

I am woken up near dawn by a beeping sound coming from the side of my bed, it's an alert! Quickly, I dash out into the main room to see what is going on. I see the District 8 mentors already at their station with expressions of concern and fear on their faces. I look at the main screen, and see what is going on. Katniss is perched in a tree, right above where the Careers are. Then I look at Peeta's screen. He is holding a knife to the District 8 girl's throat, and whispering, "I'm sorry. But I have to."

He cuts her throat open, and she dies. From my monitor, I see Peeta rejoin the Careers and tell them that the girl is now dead. They move on, and start running. I breathe easier, knowing that my two tributes are still safe for the moment.

The District 8 trainers get up, and head out the door, the female one stopping to give me just a sad, bleak look. Though I don't return the look, I understand what she is feeling right now. The unfairness, the cruelty, forcing kids to kill one another, all for the fun of the audience in the Capitol.

I turn my attention back to the Katniss monitor. She has just climbed down from her tree, and has just hit the ground. She stops and gives the cameras a knowing smile. Good girl. She needs to appear on top of things regarding Peeta working with the Careers.

There is a buzz at the entrance to the main room. A messenger walks in and says, "Oh, there you are, Mr. Abernathy. Claudius Templesmith would like to bring you in as a guest commentator today. He wants to know what you think about your male tribute working with the Careers, and the female's reaction. The interview will be right here in the Mentor Facility, so you can keep watching your tributes. The camera crews will be here in an hour, so you have that time to prepare a statement. Thank you." He leaves.

Damn Capitol. Can't say no to them, or something will happen. Not just to me, but to the tributes in the arena. So I head off to my room to prepare a statement for Claudius and all of Panem. When the hour is up, I feel I've got the perfect cover for it.

So when Claudius and the camera crews arrive, we all head on into the Interview Room, the room that is used obviously when the trainers are to be interviewed about the Games. Claudius and I take seats and someone counts back to signal the beginning of the broadcast, "3…2…1."

And we're on, all of Panem is viewing. Claudius first says to me, "So, Haymitch. I think I speak for all of Panem when I ask you, what is Peeta Mellark's motive for allying with the 1, 2, and 4 tributes, known to those in, shall we say, the _less wealthy _Districts as the 'Career Tributes'? Can you give us some insight on that?"

Of course, they'd have to dress up the unfairness of it all in a soft, sugary way. I speak the strategy that I have scripted, "Katniss and Peeta have a plan. Peeta's part is to ally with the others, and to mislead them and lie to them about Katniss, because he knows the others will be curious about how she got her training score of eleven."

Claudius replies, "Aww. That's sweet. And he's doing this just out of pure love?"

"Of course," I say. "I don't know if you caught it or not, but he was also shaking his head at Katniss before the opening gong rang out. He was trying to protect her from getting killed at the Cornucopia. He did that, and is doing this risky business of feeding false information all because he truly loves her, and does not want her to die."

"So when Katniss smiled at the camera like she knew something we didn't, that's why?" Claudius asks.

"You got it," I say.

"Well, thank you very much, Mr. Haymitch Abernathy, District 12 mentor. And to leave you all with a tiny teaser of events to come, I'll say this. Turn on the air conditioners in your homes, because it's about to get very _warm_ in the near future. Thanks for tuning in!"

The broadcast ends. I turn back to Claudius and say, "Very warm? What's going to happen?"

He gives me a wink. "You'll see." Then he walks away with his crew.

I seethe in silence. He thinks this a game. Just a game, just some entertainment. This is life and death business for _kids_, nonetheless. There's nothing funny about that.

I head back to my mentor station. By this time, all of the other trainers are up and at 'em, anxiously watching the screens. I check on mine briefly. Peeta and the Careers are sitting around, eating a meal with their abundance of supplies. They abruptly get up and leave, striding into the woods to hunt. I notice that they're not gone for long when a red-haired girl from District 5 comes to the Career's food, steals a little from each container, and scurries back into the woods. That's a smart one, that girl.

Which reminds me of Katniss. She's trekking along, searching for water. But as the day wears on and she walks some more, her steps become slower and slower, and seem to take more effort. The only break my eyes take from the screen is to open a bottle whiskey and to drink it. When night comes, she again takes to a tree, and settles in.

I want to scream at her, "You're so close! Keep going!" But she better find the pond that is agonizingly near her in the morning. If she doesn't…she's a goner for sure. I head back to my bedroom to try and get what little sleep I can.

I wake up in the morning and head to my station. The other mentors are already there ahead of me. I feel extremely exhausted. But probably nowhere nearly as exhausted as Katniss must feel. She has just climbed down from her tree, and now speaks in a loud, clear voice, "Water."

"No!" I exclaim. The mentors around me give me an odd look. The District 11 male trainer, a decent fellow by the name of Siry says, "What's the deal, Haymitch? You're not going to send her water? With all of your sponsor money that you have?"

"No," I say. "She's almost found it. There's a pond near her, and I don't want to waste any money that I don't have to. She'll find that pond. I know she will."

I turn back to the screen. Katniss is trucking along tiredly, taking stumbling steps. When I look at her, I almost feel ashamed to drink my whiskey. This pattern repeats until afternoon, until I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I turn and see Cinna, the stylist. He says, "Hey. I saw that she wasn't doing so good, and just wanted to come by to see how you were doing."

"I'm holding up," I say. Then I look at the screen. "Oh, crap."

Katniss has fallen down, and I see no signs of her getting up. I scream, "You're there! Get up! You're five feet away from water!"

As if she heard me, even though there's no way she possibly could have, she gets up, finds the pond, purifies the water, and drinks it thirstily. She does this until night falls, where as usual, she roosts in a tree, high off the ground, and falls asleep.

Cinna is still here. "She made it," he says. "She's going to be fine."

A little while later, he catches sight of something on the monitor and cries, "No!"

I turn to see what he's talking about. Heading towards Katniss is a humongous wall of fire.

Leave it to the Gamemakers to turn Cinna's beautiful idea into something so terrible and monstrous, I think sarcastically.


	6. Meeting

**Thanks to Heartless Moon, paramore fanatic, AJLL, hungergamesfan51, fireonice1292, VCullen12, mangalvr, and LizLoveDante for reviewing chapter 5. Here's chapter 6, the longest yet. Please review!**

By now, the room is under a high state of alert. All of the remaining mentors are at their stations, anxiously watching how their tributes are handling this fire.

Next to me, Cinna whispers in disbelief, "It's my fault. The Gamemakers wouldn't have done that if I hadn't made her costume like that."

I shake him and growl, "Don't be stupid, Cinna. Listen. The Gamemakers would have just done something else, probably something much worse than this fire to the tributes in there. Your idea may have actually gotten them a lesser trial to deal with.

His sad eyes mourn as he asks, "You really think so?"

"I know so," I say. "And besides, it's not your fault. It's the Gamemaker's fault; it's the Capitol's fault for starting all of this in the first place. Don't ever for a second think that anything happening is because of you."

He is too distraught to give a reply to me. So we both turn back to the station to see how our tributes are doing.

Peeta and the Careers are running frantically away from the wall of fire. They have it easy. Katniss is the only tribute in the entire arena that actually has to dodge fireballs. A single hit could end her life. Cinna and I watch with bated breath, knowing that District 12 could very well be down a tribute in the next second.

But our fears are not justified when the fireballs cease to fire at Katniss, and the flaming walls tormenting tributes all around the arena also disappear into thin air. Cinna and I exhale, knowing that Katniss and Peeta have just dodged a major bullet.

The problem is, they are nearer to each other now because of the fire. The whole point of the fire was to drive tributes closer together, and that objective of the Gamemakers has succeeded. Katniss is now dozing off near a pond and I want to scream at her to get moving, but it's no use. She's asleep, and Peeta and the Careers are out there hunting her.

Cinna taps me on the shoulder. "Haymitch, you should get some sleep. You must be tired. The alert system will let you know if anything happens to either of them."

I know he's right but…"I just feel guilty being here, safe from harm, when those kids in the arena could be dead in the next minute. You know?"

"I know…but you can't do any good for Katniss and Peeta if you're too exhausted to send them aid from a sponsor when they most need it. Get some rest. I will as well."

"You're staying here?" I ask.

"I'll sleep in the room mean for the female mentor…seeing as District 12 doesn't have one," he says almost guiltily.

A gentle reminder that District 12 has only produced two winners in seventy four years. Not very good odds for Katniss and Peeta.

I'm woken from my slumber by the gentle harmony of chimes. A gentle sound that belies the purpose of those chimes. The alert!

I rush to my station to find Cinna already there ahead of me. The look on his face confirms my worst fear.

Because the Careers have found Katniss, and she is running frantically away from them like her life depends on it. Because it does.

I can see that Katniss is weakened from the fire, which is probably why the Careers are gaining on her. As she picks a tree and begins to climb it, I notice that she is wincing in pain. Obviously, she has multiple burns on her body, especially on her hands. Well, at least I can help her with this.

I boot up the middle monitor, the sponsor monitor. I look up the price of burn medication and wince. This medicine will take a serious cut out of our resources, about 65%. But she needs it badly. So she will have it.

Back on the monitor, from her vantage point in the tree, Katniss is saying, "How's everything with you?" to the Careers. I groan. Katniss sure does pick the oddest times to start playing to the audience…

"Well enough," answers Cato, the boy that the District 2 mentor was so upset with for not killing Peeta. I sneak a peek at this mentor. Now, he is looking bloodthirsty at the prospect of a kill, even though he is not even the one in the arena. You can tell that he wishes to be back playing the Hunger Games…

"It's been a bit warm for my taste," says Katniss. A few chuckles around the room. Not from me or Cinna though. "The air's better up here. Why don't you come on up?"

"Think I will," Cato replies.

But neither he nor Glimmer, the girl from District 1 can make it up the tree. Finally, Peeta says harshly, "Oh, let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll deal with her in the morning."

Good kid. Now that I have let the whole of Panem know that he's only acting, this is sure to provoke a positive response in District 12's direction.

The Careers make camp at the bottom of the tree, while Katniss looks around in her spot about eighty feet high. Then she realizes she's not alone.

Because everyone has known from the beginning that there was another tribute in a nearby tree. It's the female District 11 tribute. This girl makes eye contact with Katniss, and points to something above Katniss.

Everyone in the room gives a little start as what the girl's pointing to is revealed. It's a tracker jacker nest! The venomous bee-like creatures used during the rebellion! Katniss is very lucky that the smoke from the fire has sedated them for the moment. Out of all the trees, Katniss had to pick this one…

The District 11 trainer, Siry, goes, "Only Rue would be so kind as to help out the enemy…"

I say to him, "Well, I wish I could thank her. She just saved Katniss' life."

Katniss realizes the danger, and as the anthem begins to play, she starts to saw through the branch holding the nest with the knife she had gotten from Clove at the Cornucopia. The room is mounting with anticipation as we realize her plan: she means to drop the nest on the Careers, and then escape!

But she doesn't finish the job. She stops when the anthem stops, because if she were to continue to saw, the sound would be heard by the Careers and they would leave. But now it is my turn to help her.

I give the command to send in the burn medicine. And when Katniss returns to her branch to stay for the night, she finds my gift to her waiting.

She whispers, "Oh, Haymitch. Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," I say aloud.

She applies the treatment, and drops off into sleep. How she can sleep with the Careers so near is beyond me…

Cinna, who has been standing here the entire time, says, "I've got some duties to take care of. I wish I could stay here, but I can't. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"It's all right," I say.

He continues, "Don't fret too much, Haymitch. She's a smart one. She'll get away from them." Then he walks out the door.

I only wish I was as confident as Cinna is…with that in mind I head off to bed to get some much-needed sleep.

I scramble out to my station at dawn to the sound of the alarm chimes. What I see is Katniss finishing the job of sawing through nest branch. A few tracker jackers are coming out, but she finishes and the nest falls to the ground. She does not escape without a few stings though.

But the Careers on the ground are getting far worse. A few, including Peeta, drop everything and bolt for the nearby lake. Two, however, don't make it to the lake. These two are the District 1 and 4 girls. They fall to the ground, their hearts stopped in comas from the venom.

At the lake, the four others come across a boy, the one from District 3. The mentor from 3 looks worried over at her station, but somewhat relaxes when the boy bargains for his life by saying that he can reactivate the mines used at the start of the Games, which would be a huge help to the Careers.

What? This is a first, that's for sure. Nobody else has ever been able to do this before. The door opens almost immediately, and a messenger calls to the District 3 mentor saying, "Claudius Templesmith would like your reaction on your tribute's claim about reactivating the mines. Come with me."

This interruption does not concern me, however, and I turn back to the screen. And I'm shocked. Because Katniss has not fled; she is struggling to retrieve the bow and arrows from the District 1 girl's body. She has just got them when Peeta crashes through the brush from the lake, a spear and knife in each hand.

I tense up. How will this moment go? But all Peeta does to Katniss is hiss, "What are still doing here? Are you mad?" He starts poking her with the spear. "Get up! Get up!" He shoves her now. "Run! Run!"

I would scream in jubilation if the situation were not so dire. Peeta has just given the audience some more star-crossed lover material to work with. This can only help their cause…

Katniss is now running away, but Peeta is not out of the woods yet (no pun intended). Cato has just appeared behind him, and has witnessed his betrayal. And so they begin to fight.

Peeta throws his spear at Cato, but Cato dodges it. Cato then slashes the knife out of Peeta's hand, and punches him in the face. Peeta stumbles back, but manages to land a punch on Cato's face as well.

Cato barely moves, and slashes again at Peeta. Peeta avoids the sword, but on the backstroke, Cato wounds him deep in the thigh. Peeta lets out a terrible scream and falls to his knees on the ground.

I tense up. This is the end for Peeta. Our whole lover routine is about to make an early end. And another tribute of mine is about to die…

Vikus, the District 2 mentor, is staring intently at the screen yelling, "Yes! Yes! Kill him! Wait…behind you Cato!"

And behind him is Thresh, the male District 11 tribute. He also wields a sword, and begins to duel with Cato. While they are fighting, Peeta gets up and begins to limp away.

I breathe a sigh of relief. He's safe…for the moment. But he's in terrible shape. He won't be able to last much longer.

My first betrayal of the Careers went much better than Peeta's…

_When the five of them, both from Districts 1 and 2, and the male from 4, saw my skill with a knife at the battle at the Cornucopia, they decided to let me join them. Though my skill was actually nowhere near to their level of prowess, it must have been good enough. I agreed, knowing it was my only chance for survival…_

_The first night, we divided into pairs to hunt. It was the leader, the boy from District 4's idea. He said that we could kill more tributes if we split up. My partner was the boy from 1. As we were running in the woods, keeping our eyes peeled for any sign of a tribute, I stopped suddenly. _

"_Hear that?" I asked._

_The boy, a sturdily built eighteen-year-old, said in puzzlement, "No." He turned away to search around the woods. "Where did it come fr-"_

_He stopped short as my knife slid into his ribs. I stabbed him again, and then a third time. He fell to the ground, dead, as the cannon sounded. I set off, already formulating a story to tell to the rest of the Careers as to how their fellow met his end._

_Because I knew that because I was nowhere near the Career's level of fighting, that I would have to outsmart them in order to win…_

I see now that Peeta has fallen into a doze near the bank of a river, weak and unmoving. Looking at Katniss, I see that she is also unconscious in the woods from the tracker jacker venom.

Noting that they are asleep, I head off to my bedroom to join them in sweet oblivion.

**I thought it was about time for a flashback, so I added one in. Reviews are what keep me writing, so please leave a comment!**

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	7. Awakening

**Wow, 13 reviews the last chapter! Thanks so much to all who reviewed! And here's chapter 7!**

The next two days pass without incident. Katniss and Peeta are both still in their respective comas, the former being in the middle of the woods, the latter by a bank of a river. The Careers are incapacitated as well, by their camp by the lake. Cato, having only gotten one sting, is injured in a different way: from the sword of Thresh. He is so wrapped up in bandages; he looks like an ancient mummy.

The only action that is occurring would be the reactivation of the mines by the District 3 boy. True to his word, he completed his self-assigned task early on the second day. All of the Career's supplies are now protected by the mines, the only way to get to them being a complex path over and around the mines.

Death by the mines is a death that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy…

_Gathered around the Cornucopia, standing on my metal platform, I took in the surrounding tribute's facial expressions and emotions. Mostly, everyone had the deer-in-the-headlights-look on their face. Like they couldn't believe what was about to happen. _

_The Careers were all nodding to each other, and practically tearing at the traces. They were all so eager to start killing young children. And then one of them got a little too eager…_

_A loud explosion cut like a knife through the still air. I whipped my head around. The District 4 girl had moved a little too soon, and was now missing both of her legs. She started screaming, an ear-piercing scream of pure agony. As the gong sounded, she cried for her fellow Careers to help her._

_One of them did. By throwing a spear into her chest…_

At morning on the third day since the tracker jacker incident; now something is finally happening to one of my tributes. Katniss wakes up, and starts stirring slowly.

I breathe a sigh of relief. She's no longer a sitting duck for anyone to come and kill her. Though from the looks of it, the Careers as well as Peeta are still out of play. Of course, they got the venom worse than Katniss did.

As Katniss begins to walk along, her newly acquired bow and arrow, I spot another pair of feet stealthily following her. That figure always stays a distance back, occasionally stopping to gather up some roots or berries.

Next to me, I turn to Siry at the District 11 station. "Why is Rue following Katniss?"

He sighs. "When Rue first came under my care…I could see it was hopeless. She lacked that killer edge. In fact, she's too nice for her own good. My guess is that she would want to take on your tribute for an ally…"

"Katniss would never team up with that wisp of a child," I say.

Siry snorts. "Well, we'll see…"

As the day progresses along, Katniss makes two kills with her bow and arrows. Siry asks me, "How does she come to be so good at archery?"

"Trade secret," I say. I don't want to be the one that gets Katniss arrested for hunting illegally.

Around late afternoon, Katniss is cooking her kills that she had acquired throughout the day. She's using a fire! A fire! A clear broadcast sign that says, 'Come and get me; I'm here to be killed!'

"Stupid!" I say out loud. "The Careers are awake now, they're hunting you!"

And they are. As I watch, I see both Clove and the District 1 boy coming to their senses. Cato had been in a sort of weakened state, overseeing the District 3 boy's work on the mines. But over the past few days, he had been recuperating, using his abundance of supplies to treat his wounds. And now he's better. They're all back in the game. And they're ready to kill.

I check on Peeta. No, he's still in slumber land.

As I turn back to Katniss, I see her whip around at the sound of a twig's snap. The cause of course being someone having stepped on that twig. The person of course being Rue.

Katniss calls to Rue, "You know, they're not the only ones who can form alliances." What??

Siry snickers and says, "Hey, Haymitch, good thing we didn't bet on it right?"

"Shut up. Let me drink my whiskey," I retort back.

As we watch, Rue produces a sort of leaf that helps treat the tracker jacker stings that Katniss has. She also teaches Katniss about a sort of berry that is safely edible, and shows her what the night-vision glasses are actually used for.

"So it seems that little Rue is the senior partner in the alliance here," wisecracks Siry.

"Siry, I'm warning you…" I answer him. This is what we have to do. Try and find little streaks of optimism. The alternative is to spend the time being totally depressed about the horrible reality of the Games.

As night falls, and the anthem begins to play, Katniss and Rue both retire to a tree for the night. They're safe...for now.

But as I watch, the Career set out to hunt, with the District 3 boy staying back to guard their supplies. I still have another tribute in jeopardy here…so I check on Peeta by the riverbank.

And I'm startled when I see that he's awake and alert! But in terrible pain from the wound that Cato had inflicted on him, from stings, from burns.

I wince out of reflex and check my sponsor screen. Can I send him anything to ease his burden? No, all of his wounds are out of my price range to treat.

_I'm sorry, kid._

Hating myself for not being able to help out another tribute who had no say in his fate, I head off to sleep.

Waking up to the sound of the alarm chimes, I dash out to my station. What I see is horrifying:

The three Careers are chasing after the boy with the crippled foot, the one from District 10. The boy is limping away; he stands no chance.

But I'm concerned more with the area that the action is occurring at: the river! As I watch, Peeta, who is still hidden by his camouflage, is sweating profusely from nervousness. If the Careers find him…he's done.

A knife into the back of the head sends the District 10 boy sprawling to the ground. After the cannon fires, to my horror, the Careers start walking towards where Peeta is hidden. The District 1 boy says "One more gone."

Cato replies with, "Yeah, but the top three on my kill list still have yet to go. When I find number one, I'm going to kill her myself, and none of you better interfere with me. To take off her head will bring me the sweetest pleasure in the entire world." _Katniss._

Cato continues, "Then Thresh, for doing this" -he motions to his many bandages –"to me. Then number three, is Lover Boy. When I find that son of a bitch, I'm going to crush him like the dog he is."

Cato's foot comes down on Peeta's chest. I can only imagine his thoughts right now. But since Peeta is so well-camouflaged, none of the Careers notice anything amiss. They continue to walk away from the river.

Whew. Another catastrophe averted. And another one begun, because now, both of my tributes have been marked for death by the fiercest predator there is in the Games…

The District 1 boy says, "I'm going to set some snares."

"Food snares or tribute snares?" Clove asks.

"Tribute, of course," replies District 1. "Who knows what I might catch? Or I should say, _who _I might catch?"

As the Careers walk farther away from the river, Siry asks me, "You think he'll catch any of your tributes?"

"I sure as hell hope not," I say. I don't even want to think about the possibility that he might. "You think he'll catch Thresh or Rue?"

"Nah," he says. "That won't ever happen…"

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	8. Success And Tragedy

**Here's chapter 8, read and review!**

After reassuring myself that Peeta is safe for the moment, it's now time to check on Katniss.

She and Rue are speaking in hushed voices, and gathering up wood. And it seems that they are not content to just sit back and avoid the Careers. From the sounds of their conversation, they want to be so foolish as to go right to them!

Rue is telling Katniss about the Career's base, filling her in on the whole layout. She then mentions the involvement of the boy from District 3.

Katniss asks, "The boy from District 3? He's working with them?"

Rue nods. "Yes, he stays at the camp full-time. He got stung, too, when they drew the tracker jackers in by the lake. I guess they agreed to let him live if he acted as their guard."

"What weapons does he have?" Katniss asks.

"Not much that I could see. A spear. He might be able to hold a few of us off with that, but Thresh could kill him easily," says Rue.

Next to me, Siry nods in silent agreement and pride. I bet he thinks that Thresh is a real contender to win the Games. And from what I've seen of his fighting skills, at the Cornucopia and dueling with Cato, I'd say that Siry isn't far off. Which doesn't bode well for my tributes…

"And the food's just out in the open?" Katniss wonders. "Something's not quite right about that whole setup."

"Because it's mined!" I exclaim out loud. If Katniss is killed from the mines exploding…it would be the most emotionally painful death for me that I would have to go through in all my years of mentoring. But however painful it would be for me, it would be a hundred times painful for her…

I can only watch in anxiety as Katniss and Rue complete their plans, and build two decoy signal fires to lure the Careers away from the base. Rue will set the fires, while Katniss will take out their food. She's thinking about getting rid of it by dumping it in the lake or something. I only wish I could tell her that it just won't be that simple…

Even the District 3 mentor is looking horrified at the possibility someone will be dying shortly as a result of her tribute's actions. As she looks at me, she almost seems apologetic about the laying of the mines. She doesn't like the Games anymore than I do. She's just another pawn in the Capitol's grand master plan, just another human being without a choice.

But I refuse to return her sympathetic look. Because after all, her tribute is competing against mine. Nothing can change the fact that twenty-three will die, and only one will win. Nothing at all. Certainly not a sorry look.

I check on the screen again, to see how Katniss and Rue are faring. The main screen is tuned onto the action here; nobody wants to miss this. Katniss is hiding in a copse nearby the lake waiting for the Careers to be lured out. This is Rue's job.

As the screen moves to Rue, she lights one of the matches that Katniss had given her, and sets a blaze to the first signal fire. She throws the burned match into the flames, and takes off sprinting to the next designated decoy fire.

Back at the lake, the first wisps of smoke are becoming visible to the Careers. The District 1 boy points to the sky and says, "Look. Smoke!"

Cato turns his head to see where District 1 is pointing. "You're right, Blace," he says with an evil grin. I shudder. Cato seems a little too sadistically eager to start killing young children. What could have possibly made him grow up this way?

As the Careers arms themselves, Clove asks, "What about him?" She inclines her head to the District 3 boy. "Should he come with us, or stay here?"

"He's coming. We need him in the woods, and his job's done here anyway. No one can touch those supplies," Cato says.

"What about Lover Boy?" asks Blace from District 1.

"I keep telling you, forget about him. I know where I cut him. It's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet. At any rate, he's in no shape to raid us," spits out Cato.

I briefly look at Peeta. He's still in a dazed coma by the river. _Sorry, kid._

The Careers begin to move out towards the source of the smoke. Just before they enter the woods, Cato snarls, "When we find her, I kill her in my own way, and no one interferes." I wince. _Sorry, sweetheart._

Katniss doesn't move for a while after the Careers have left. She stays in her little hidey-hole, sizing up the situation. But, just as she decides that she needs to move closer in order to get a better look, she is stopped by the emergence of another tribute.

The girl from District 5 creeps furtively out onto the plain. She carefully approaches the mined supplies, and uses little hops around the mines in order to reach the food and such. When she makes a misstep, I hear the entire room inhale breath sharply. But she's lucky. A mine doesn't go off. She grabs a little food from each bin, and scampers back off into the woods.

I see Katniss, thinking about what has just happened. Then I see the realization dawn upon her face. "It's mined," she whispers to herself.

"Yes, sweetheart!" I exclaim.

As Katniss sits there, she realizes the situation has changed dramatically. She'll have to come up with a new plan in order to take out the food. And she doesn't have much time. Because Rue has just lit the second signal fire. And the Careers are starting to voice murmurs of suspicion about the whole deal.

Then, as I watch, she takes three arrows and sets them at the ready. She sends the first arrow flying into a burlap bag filled with apples that is hanging over some mines. The second arrow pieces the bag further. And the third sends the apples spilling to the ground, setting off the mines and blowing Katniss backward into the air.

At the site of the second fire, the Careers drop everything and start sprinting back to the lake. Of course they know what just happened. Every tribute in the arena has just heard that explosion.

But the Careers are coming ever closer, and Katniss is slowly crawling on the ground. The nervousness is overwhelming me. I stand up out my seat and start yelling, "Go! Go! Get out of there!"

The other mentors don't even give me reproaching looks. They're too engrossed in the drama playing out on the screen.

But Katniss has just gotten undercover when there's Cato, bursting onto the plain. He begins to lose it, and starts to tear out his hair and beat at the ground with his fists. It'd be comical if the situation were still not so dire. I really think that Cato is not entirely sane anymore…

But another part of Cato's rage is not comical in the least. He rounds on the District 3 boy, and yells, "You did this! This is your fault! And now, you will pay for it!"

The boy begins to run, but for a big guy, Cato moves fast. He quickly catches a hold of the boy from behind, and snaps his neck with a swift twist. It's that quick. The death of the boy from District 3.

Not fazed in the least by that death, the Careers are talking amongst themselves now. Clove says, "Guys. We know that two so far have died today. If a cannon was fired, we could have easily missed it during the explosion. So if there are only two faces in the sky tonight, we know that the bomber survived."

Cato replies, "Always the smart one, Clove. You're right. Now we wait."

They don't have long to wait. Night falls, and the anthem plays. In the sky is the District 3 boy that Cato killed, and District 10 boy that Clove killed earlier today by the river. Blace from 1 states the obvious by saying, "The bomber survived."

And without saying a further word, the Careers stride back into the woods to hunt. If only they knew where exactly the bomber was…

Katniss is still lying back at her little copse of leaves that is completely undercover. It's hard for the cameras to get a good shot of her, but when I hear the little sounds of her rhythmic breathing, I know that she's asleep. She deserves it after her ordeal.

The main screen is still set on the Careers right now, so in order to get a glimpse of Rue; I peer over at Siry's station right next to me.

Rue is jogging through the woods, looking up, presumably for a safe place to sleep in the trees that night. This is her mistake. She should be looking down…

A twig snaps and Rue is hoisted into the air, dangling from one foot. As a part of the snare, a net is engaged and Rue becomes hopelessly entangled in it, still above the ground. At least she does have the good sense not to scream out loud…

Who has set this snare? Then looking over at the District 1 mentor's half-smile of glee, I remember. Blace from 1 had set snares. And now Rue is caught as a result of them.

Next to me, Siry sucks in air sharply. "No," he breathes.

I can't bear to see the hope sucked out of him. And I can't help but feel horrible that it is a twelve-year-old that is now totally helpless, at the mercy of anyone who would happen.

"Hey," I say to him. "Chin up. When Rue doesn't show at the rendezvous point, I'm sure Katniss will go looking for her. She'll be found in time, I know it."

He doesn't respond. But his eyes tell me that he doesn't believe a word I'm saying. And I must admit, I personally don't believe them myself.

I could, I _should _be going to sleep right now, but I can't. Even though it's not even my tribute, some part of me feels obligated to see how Rue's fate turns out to be.

But at around midnight, things are actually looking up for her. Since the anthem, Thresh from 11 has been away from his domain in the grassy field, and has been gathering edible roots and berries in the woods. As we watch, Thresh, without knowing it, is coming ever closer to Rue's tree where she is imprisoned. Siry sits up straight in anticipation. "Come on, Thresh," he wills. "Find her. Save her."

"How do you know he won't just kill her?" I ask.

Siry just gives me a look. "Thresh had a soft spot for Rue during prep week. He promised that he'd never hurt her, and that if he came across her in the arena in trouble, he'd do his best to save her."

Now I understand his excitement. And I can't help but get caught up in it too. So I find myself willing for Thresh to find and save Rue, so that she won't have to die…at least yet.

But Thresh is maybe ten feet away from Rue's tree when he hears something he doesn't like. This would be three pairs of feet snapping twigs and branches as they jog through the woods.

The Careers! They're still out hunting! Thresh abandons his root-gathering and begins to stealthily slither away from the sound of the feet, looking straight ahead, not up at all. As strong as he is, three on one is not very good odds for him. He's getting farther away by the second.

The Careers continue along their path, not noticing in the darkness the form slowly moving away from them. Nor the figure that is still imprisoned twenty feet off the ground.

Rue doesn't dare call out to Thresh, not with the Careers so close. And as I watch, I know I will never be able to forget this.

I'll never be able to forget the raw, bleak sadness in Rue's hollow eyes as she watches Thresh's retreating form. Because she knows her only hope at rescue is gone. She knows she's doomed to die.


	9. Turning Point

**Thanks to all who last reviewed, here's chapter nine!**

I rise from my bed at about ten in the morning, and head to my station to begin another day being slowly tortured.

The reason I didn't wake up is because I never went to sleep. I couldn't. I tried, but whenever I closed my eyes, the image of little Rue's face came back to haunt me. And that image made me feel guilty whenever I tried to nod of:

Because it was practically assured, that Rue wouldn't have to ever worry about insomnia. She was about to be sleeping eternally…

"Hey," I said trying to put a feeling of lightness into my tone as I sat down at my adjoining station to Siry.

"Hey," he said back tiredly. He had stayed at his station the entire night, hoping in vain that Rue would somehow be rescued. It didn't happen, of course.

I wish I could help him somehow. Actually, maybe I can, in the smallest of ways. "Hey, why don't you go get some sleep? I'll keep an eye on things for you," I say.

He looks at me with heartfelt gratitude, and something inside of me breaks. How much pain must these Hunger Games cause him for him to be so grateful, so thankful at me simply giving him a chance to rest?

"Sure," he replies.

Siry goes to his quarters, and I take a position in between the District 11 and 12 stations to best watch the monitors on both of them.

Nothing has changed all that much from yesterday. Peeta is still in a coma by the riverbank, Thresh is still laired in his grassy field, and Rue is still trapped up in her tree. The only difference would be Katniss.

Katniss is…by the river! By Peeta! But as I can tell from Peeta's monitor, he doesn't know that the person so near him is Katniss, and so he doesn't dare to break his camouflage façade. "Find him, sweetheart!" I yell.

But just as Thresh didn't find Rue last night, Katniss doesn't find Peeta now. I groan. Why are the odds just never in our favor?

Katniss finishes cleaning herself by the river, and heads off to hunt. After doing so, she meets at the appointed rendezvous point that she had set up with Rue, and simply waits. Of course. She doesn't know that anything is amiss. That Rue is sitting up in a net right now.

Around late afternoon, Katniss realizes that something is wrong. She realizes that if Rue hasn't shown by now, something has gone awry. So she decides to go find out what that something is.

But it's a little too late. Because the main screen is showing the Career's camp, with Blace from District 1 saying to the District 2 pair, "I'm going to check on my snares. We'll see if I caught anything…"

I tense up. It's the ultimate race against the clock. Will Katniss somehow find Rue in time? Or will Blace reach her first?

I hear the sounds of crashing footsteps behind me, and I turn to find Siry barreling into the viewing room. "The alarm woke me. What's happened?"

I simply point to the monitor showing Blace with a spear heading towards Rue.

Siry is no fool. He knows what's going to happen. But like me, he still retains some hope that Rue will somehow be miraculously rescued by a frantically searching Katniss any minute now.

Rue hears the pounding footfalls approaching her, and responds by singing her four-note mockingjay tune loudly. Of course! She wants Katniss to be able to find her from the birds!

But it's too late. Blace bursts into the clearing where Rue is, and stops short in surprise. Apparently, he didn't expect to catch anything. Or anyone. But from the look on his face, he's certainly not complaining at his fortune.

"Well, well…it's the little one," says Blace evilly. His sadistic smile only widens as he says, "I'm going to enjoy this. You were working with District 12, weren't you? You were the one setting the fires that led us away from camp, while she somehow blew up our supplies, right?"

I have to give Rue some credit. She didn't even deign to answer Blace. Not one peep escaped her lips.

And this antagonizes Blace more than words ever could. Now looking mildly annoyed, Blace continues, "Any last words? You want to beg for mercy and fall to pieces in front of all of Panem?

Tearing my eyes away from the unfolding action for a moment, I check on Katniss.

And she's right there! She's so close! She's moving in the direction of the original mockingjay tune given by Rue, and as I watch, she repeats that tune softly back to the birds.

This gives Rue the answer she had been looking for. Hearing the response of Katniss, the one whom she had entrusted her life to; she begins to scream that person's name. "Katniss! Katniss!"

"Rue!" Katniss shouts back. "Rue! I'm coming!"

Blace is now looking confused. It seems that he can't decide what action to take next. Then his features settle as he decides on his next move. "First you," he says to Rue. "Then District 12. I'll tell her that you'll be waiting…"

And then Katniss bursts into the clearing, her bow at the ready, and arrow loaded. But it's much too late. Because the spear has already entered Rue's body.

Siry jerks in his chair. I lay a hand on his shoulder, to try and offer him some relief. But nothing is ever going to relieve this…

Some form of justice is given in that Blace almost immediately dies after throwing his spear. An arrow from Katniss drives deep into his neck, and he crumples to the ground in enormous pain. But not surprisingly, I don't really feel all that bad for him. My concern is focused on the tiny twelve-year-old who has a spear in her stomach.

Katniss rushes over to Rue and clutches her hand tightly, but it's Rue who speaks first. "You blew up the food?" she whispers.

"Every last bit," Katniss says, fighting to keep a steady tone.

"You have to win," Rue says. Siry doesn't even take offense to this fact that Rue would rather have Katniss win than Thresh. Our tribute's fates are so intertwined that it almost seems like an acceptable outcome to him.

"I'm going to. Going to win for both of us now," says Katniss. The cannon fires after she says this. For Blace. Rue still has more time left in this world.

"Don't go," Rue whispers while tightening her grip on Katniss' hand.

"Course not. Staying right here," Katniss answers.

The last word that Rue ever speaks is barely audible. "Sing."

And so complying with Rue's last request, Katniss begins to sing:

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes  
And when again they open, the sun will rise_

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you_

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away_

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you _

Rue's eyes have long since fluttered shut. As the final words die on Katniss' lips, something else dies. Rue.

Her cannon fires, and for a moment, Katniss continues to kneel down beside her. Katniss seems to wrestle with an internal conflict, and then suddenly, she gets up. She makes a choice. She heads into a bank of wildflowers growing in the nearby woods, gathers a few up, and heads back to Rue.

And slowly, solemnly, she decorates Rue's body in the flowers. Covering the nasty wound. Wreathing her face. Weaving bright, vibrant colors into her hair.

I seriously have to hold in raw tears of sadness right now. The death of this tiny little girl and the response of Katniss has opened up an emotional dam inside of me that I didn't even know existed before today.

It's a wonder that I ever survived the Hunger Games with this level of caring that I apparently possess…but then in some ways…a part of me still hasn't returned from those Games…

But I am jerked from my reverie by the main screen switching off of the image of Katniss decorating Rue with flowers to a picture of Thresh simply sleeping in his domain. Siry voices the question out loud. "Why did they do that?"

My cynical, practical self provides the answer. "Because even that simple act of decorating her body smacks of rebellion."

Siry doesn't reply. Because, really, what else is there left to say about what has just transpired? The hideous screen speaks for itself. Actions truly are louder than words…

And then something unexpected happens. On Siry's middle monitor, the sponsor monitor, an alert pops up. "Haymitch," he says cautiously. "A District gift meant for…her just came through. But…instead of giving it to Thresh…I want to give it to Katniss. As a thank-you, as a way of saying that District 11 does not let debts go unpaid. Is that alright with you?"

"Of course," I say readily. This is certainly a first. A district gift to a tribute who's not your own.

The silver parachute floats down to Katniss, and as she opens it, she immediately recognizes the gift and all of the significance attached to it. As she lifts the loaf of warm bread into the air, she says clearly, "My thanks to the people of District 11."

Siry only nods in acknowledgment.

If I was merely troubled by the image of Rue's face last night, now I am mercilessly tormented by it. Just like last night, I don't sleep a wink.

Morning brings a feeling of lethargy. From looking at the screen, I can tell that it is the same with Katniss. She goes through her movements through the day with a sort of slow robotic stiffness, and in the early evening, she retires to a tree early for the night. Just a regular day filled with the horrible aftermath from the previous day.

But it seems that the action is not quite over for others in the arena. At the Career's camp, Cato is fast asleep, his sword lying next to him. Clove is standing watch, but rather than really paying attention to her surroundings, she is looking furtively at Cato.

What is she doing? But Clove then answers my unspoken question by lunging at Cato's throat with a knife in each hand.

But the blows never land. Cato's eyes pop open, and he deflects both knives with his broadsword. And without a word, they begin to duel. Cato's utter lack of a verbal statement almost implies that he had been expecting something of this nature to eventually occur. It was only natural for Careers, after all.

But while I am wishing for both of them to somehow become fatally injured, I am also fervently wishing for their fight to be carried away from its current path. Because the current path of Cato and Clove's dance of death is leading directly to the river where Peeta still lies in a coma slipping in and out of consciousness.

I shake my head in disbelief Why does everything have to happen at the river? Why can't Peeta just be left alone?

And as all of Panem watches, while backpedalling away from a sword slash, Clove makes a small misstep in the rocky riverbank. This is all Cato needs, as he covers the remaining distance between them with an animalistic charge, and slams into Clove. Her two knives fly away, as Cato pins her down and holds his sword to her throat.

The entire room can sense it. A death is about to occur. But as it turns out, we are all proved wrong. Because this is what we hear:

"Greetings to the final six contestants of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. There has been a rule change. Under the new rule, two tributes may win if they are the last two left alive and from the same District. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

**I wrote this chapter in a hurry...sorry if it shows. Please, please take the time to leave a review!**


	10. The Change

**Wow, over 100 reviews! That's really amazing, thanks so much all!**

**Any viewers of the TV show LOST out there reading this? If so, please check out my new fanfic for LOST, titled The Call Of Destiny.**

**I accidentally posted chapter 9 on both chapter 9 and 8, but that is now fixed. Thanks to those who pointed out my mistake.**

There has never _ever_ been a rule change in the history of the Hunger Games. And what's even more surprising; the mentors didn't even get a single hint that this was going to happen. You'd that something of this magnitude would leak...but no.

If I had to guess, I'd say it was because of the overwhelming popularity of our 'star-crossed lover' routine. But I never imagined that the plan would work _this_ well…

_You have a chance to save two from these dreadful Games, not just one. Don't screw it up._

But then from her vantage point in a tree, Katniss yells out, "Peeta!"

I resist the urge to scream at her, only because there's nobody around, and simply because it furthers our lover routine. I'm more concerned with Peeta right now.

"Katniss!"

The problem is with Peeta shouting out…Cato and Clove are still at the river. And now they're back on the same side. Ready to kill.

"Did you hear that?" asks Clove of Cato.

Cato nods. "Yeah, it sounded like…Lover Boy?"

I suck in my breath. How could Peeta have been so stupid?

It's simple: because he loves Katniss. And love makes people do crazy things.

But my fears for Peeta are for nought, because even though Cato and Clove comb the river for over two hours, they don't find him. They left their night-vision goggles back at the camp (I'm sure that was the last thing on their minds as they fought), and Peeta is simply too well hidden.

Camouflage…the last defense of the dying.

Cato and Clove finally give up the search for Peeta, and leave the area. Peeta stops sweating, and goes to sleep. Katniss has been long asleep, and I can only hope that she will search for Peeta in the morning.

Apparently, there will be no sleep for the weary. A Capitol messenger pops his head in the room, and proclaims, "Mr. Abernathy. Claudius Templesmith requires your presence as a guest commenter immediately. He would like your view, as well as the District 2 mentor's view, on the newest rule change in the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games."

Just wonderful. Not only to I have to somehow come up with a decent-sounding interview to win Katniss and Peeta sponsors, I have to do it while engaging in a verbal battle with the cruel District 2 trainer, Vikus. What a great way to end the day, right?

Nothing to do but to follow the messenger into the room where the camera crews are already set up and ready to go. Claudius Templesmith is seated in an easy chair, with two chairs placed on either side of him. I take the chair on his left, while Vikus takes the chair on the right.

Claudius winks at both of us. "You both ready? Let's have some fun!"

I'm too disgusted by his callous reaction to answer him, and cruel Vikus probably doesn't even want to deign to respond to what he feels is a fool of a man.

A cameraman counts backward to signal the start of the broadcast. "3…2...1. Action!"

"Good evening Panem," says Claudius confidently. "As you can see, I'm here with the two mentors that the newest rule change has just affected. Vikus, we'll start with you. How do you think the rule change will affect the strategy of your tributes?"

I see a cameraman zoom in close in Vikus' face, probably in order to capture the pure confidence and almost evilness etched on his expression. "That's a simple one, Claudius," Vikus answers. "I'd say that almost nothing has changed. Cato and Clove are still the strongest fighters in the arena. Only now, they're not afraid to trust each other. They're able to work together to take on the remainder of the tributes in the arena, who simply do not match up to them. District 2's odds of winning have only improved greatly because of this rule change."

"Now, are you sure that one of them still won't betray the other?" asks Claudius. "I mean, we did see that just as the rule took effect."

Vikus shakes his head. "No, the entire joy of winning is to feel the adulation when you return home. And if each one of them took the other's life, if that person won, they'd be hated upon their return to District 2. So no, they will not turn against each other for the rest of the Games."

"Well then, good to hear from you, Vikus," responds Claudius. He turns to me. "Now, Haymitch, what about you? How do you feel the new rule will affect Katniss and Peeta? Especially since Peeta is on his way out?"

I resist the urge to knock Claudius for that little snide comment. "Well, Katniss is going to search for Peeta, of course! Do you honestly think that the star-crossed lovers would leave one another behind? No, she'll find him, and nurse him back to health."

And then I decide to go the extra mile. I direct my gaze right at Vikus. "And then we'll see which District will come out on top."

Before Vikus can fire off an angry retort, Claudius breaks in. "Ooh, a little friendly District competition here! Let's save that for the tributes in the arena, how about it folks? Anyways, our time here is up for now; goodnight Panem."

Before signing off, Claudius mocking holds up his hands, as if pretending that he forgot something. "Oh! Almost forgot to give you a sneak peek of events to come. I do believe that some of the tributes in the Hunger Games are going to be feeling a little less hungry very soon. A feast will always fill your belly…"

The cameras stop rolling, and the broadcast ends. A feast? Not good. Feasts always result in deaths…

Vikus stalks up to me almost immediately. "Tough words on the air, drunken slob. Let's see if you feel that way when Clove has cut up your precious Fire Girl to ribbons at the feast, huh?"

"Let's see if you feel that way when Cato has an arrow in his skull, and both of my tributes are being crowned the victors, how about it?" I retort.

I have to talk tougher than I believe. Because frankly, without any hope, it's as if they're already lost. As if they're already dead.

Vikus turns abruptly and moves away. I guess he just doesn't want to be bothered with District 12 anymore…

So in the morning, I rise early in order to get a look at how Katniss will go about the search for Peeta.

She has just set a fire for a diversion, a fire thick with greens and live wood, which will give off plenty of smoke. Smart girl. Could she be so smart as to figure out where…?

"Yes, sweetheart!"

She is now moving slowly, cautiously, stealthily along the river, searching for any sign of Peeta. She is hugging the rocks close to the stream, finding a few bloodstains, a few threads of torn fabric. But no Peeta. She begins to call his name in very hushed tones.

"Peeta! Peeta!"

Come on Peeta, I mentally will him. It's not Cato or Clove again. It's Katniss. The love of your life. Answer her!

And then he does. But not quite in the way that I had expected him to.

"You here to finish me off, sweetheart?"

**A shorter chapter...sorry because I've been really busy with work and other stories, especially my new LOST story which here I am advertising yet again.**

**Please, please take the time to leave a review!**


	11. Rendezvous

**It's been awhile since i updated this story, (about four and a half months actually) so let's get on with the chapter! Read and review!**

Katniss jumps like a frightened rabbit at the unexpected sound of Peeta's voice. She whips around, looking from side to side, trying to locate him.

"Peeta?" she tentatively whispers. "Where are you? Peeta?"

"Well, don't step on me."

Katniss jumps yet again. Then her eyes move slowly downwards to rest on the muddy ground where Peeta has encased himself in the flawless art of camouflage.

"Close your eyes again," Katniss commands.

When Peeta complies, even those in the mentor room gasp at how completely Peeta vanishes from sight. It seems that Peeta wasn't as hopeless as he first thought. Funny at just how powerful of a motivator the Games are…

But then my attention is torn away from the screen as a messenger bursts into the room. His message is very concise. He declares, "There will be a feast very soon. What you mentors must do is name the thing that your tribute needs most, and it will be up for grabs at the feast. You may name anything you want. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

He beats a hasty retreat, leaving the rest of us mentors to ponder his words.

Over at his station, Vikrus from 2 lets out a laugh. "My tributes don't need anything at all," he says arrogantly. "They're doing just fine."

"They're going to need something when Katniss is firing arrows at them," I angrily retort.

Vikus just gives me a look. "Fine. Some body armor then."

I address the District 5 mentor, Giya. "Care to share what you'll give your tribute?"

Giya replies, "Probably just a good supply of food. My girl is no good with weapons anyway."

"What about you, Haymitch?" Siry from 11 asks me.

"No clue," I say. And it's true. I really don't know yet. "You?"

"Thresh has no problem finding food for himself," he answers. "I'll probably send him a weapon or two."

I turn my attention back to the screen. Katniss has just finished cleaning Peeta's horrible leg wound, and is now about to clean his clothes. "Here, cover yourself with this and I'll wash your shorts," she says.

"Oh, I don't care if you see me," Peeta replies with a twinkle in his eyes.

"You're just like the rest of my family," Katniss answers. "I care, all right?"

I can't help but laugh. For a tribute in the Hunger Games, Katniss has certain principles that she refuses to let go of. Though I suppose that's something to admire, not ridicule.

"You know, you're kind of squeamish for such a lethal person," Peeta teases as Katniss cleans the shorts. "I wish I'd let you give Haymitch a shower after all."

Next to me, Siry bursts out in laughter. I personally can't help but crack a smile. Touché, Peeta.

"What's he sent you so far?" Katniss asks Peeta.

Uh oh.

"Not a thing," says Peeta. Then it dawns on him. "Why, did you get something?"

"Burn medicine. Oh, and some bread."

"I always knew you were his favorite," says Peeta.

Not true. I'd like to say that I have no favorites, but if I were to pick one…it'd be Peeta.

The way he is always looking out for Katniss, the way he sacrifices himself in order to protect her is just something that nobody should ever take for granted. In my opinion, Katniss could live a hundred lifetimes and still not deserve him.

And the reason I sent those things to Katniss instead of sending aid to Peeta is because I know that that's what he would want.

What follows is an episode that could be considered comedic if the situation weren't so dire. Katniss attempts to get Peeta to move to a place that is safer, but all that happens is they move about fifty yards downstream into a cave. Katniss sets up a makeshift camouflage defense, and they crawl inside the cave.

"Katniss," Peeta says. With tenderness so believable that it even fools me, she brushes the hair away from his eyes. "Thanks for finding me."

"You would have found me if you could," she answers.

Peeta begins to say something about him not making it back to District 12, but Katniss just doesn't want to hear it.

"But I-" Peeta insists.

Without warning, Katniss leans forward and kisses him, full on the lips. I can just imagine the swooning going on all around Panem at this long-overdue kiss between the two star-crossed lovers.

"About time, sweetheart!" I exclaim out loud.

A beeping tone from my sponsor monitor indicates that I have just received a large donation of money towards the District 12 cause. Time to send Katniss a little message: more kissing and affection. I just hope she takes the hint.

A silver parachute comes floating down towards Katniss, and she quickly unwraps it to find my fresh pot of hot broth waiting.

She heads back inside the cave, and holds the pot of broth out to Peeta. "Peeta, look what Haymitch has sent you!"

You're welcome, kid.

It's not long before they settle in for the night. Not remembering the last time when I slept peacefully myself, I head off to sleep as well, even though a part of me feels guilty. Part of me feels like I should be staying awake constantly in order to help them somehow. I don't think I've ever felt this strongly about a pair of tributes before, ever in my twenty-four years of mentoring. With that thought in my head, my mind drifts off into slumber.

Too long. I've slept too long. When I wake up, I can tell that it's late afternoon. Changing into a fresh set of clothes and hastily gulping down half a bottle of spirits, I stagger out into the viewing room, wondering, why didn't the alert wake me?

I guess, because nothing at all was happening to Katniss or Peeta.

I guess I'm just in time for the present action then.

Katniss is unwrapping the bandage around Peeta's leg, to check on his wound. And she does not like what she sees, as the swelling around it has increased and red streaks are starting to show on his leg. This can only mean one thing.

Blood poisoning.

And I now know what I will be sending to Katniss and Peeta at the feast.

After rebandaging Peeta's leg, Katniss heads out briefly to rig a few snares, though I doubt she'll find success. There is almost no game around the cave where they are currently residing.

After re-entering the cave, she asks Peeta, "Do you want anything?"

"No," he says. "Thank you. Wait, yes. Tell me a story."

"A story? What about?"

"Something happy. Tell me about the happiest day you can remember," Peeta says.

And so Katniss does. Katniss spins a heart-warming tale about how she managed to scrape up money for a goat, how she eventually bought the goat, and brought home for Prim to see. How Prim cried, laughed, and screamed when she saw the goat. How she and her mother grinded up herbs and coaxed different brews down the animal's throat.

By the end, I'm just about feeling my heartstrings going out to these two. And if I am, you can bet that every citizen in Panem wants to sponsor them.

The Capitol messenger picks this moment to enter the viewing room, interrupting a tender moment between the two. "Your responses for the feast are now required," he states in a superior tone.

Stuck-up prat.

"Body armor," says Vikus.

"Enough food for five days," says Giya.

"A sword," goes Siry.

"A remedy for blood poisoning," I say.

The messenger's face twists up when he hears that one. "Do you have any idea how much that _costs_?" he asks in a wounded tone.

I shrug. "I thought we could pick anything."

The messenger walks off in a huff, no doubt unhappy to report my request to Claudius Templesmith. Like I care.

Right on cue, the trumpets in the arena blare and all the tributes remaining stand to attention, waiting for the words to follow.

"Greetings to the final six tributes of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games. This is your formal invitation to attend an upcoming feast."

Katniss actually goes so far as to wave away Caesar's words, but he continues, "Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately. Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."

The words end there. And I know what's going to happen before it even begins.

Peeta immediately forbids Katniss from going. Katniss immediately argues that she is going, no matter what. Finally, she says, "What am I supposed to do? Sit here and watch you die?"

"I won't die. I promise. If you promise not to go," Peeta says.

Katniss then feeds him some soup, then goes outside in order to wash up. But all I can think of is how utterly doomed Peeta is if Katniss doesn't go to that feast. He won't last but for a day or two before the infection gets him.

Peeta is ready to die. But I'm not ready to let him die.

And so there's only one thing to do. Quickly, I check my sponsor monitor. Do I have enough resources for this? Yes, I do. So I click the appropiate button and watch my silver parachute fly down to Katniss.

At first Katniss is puzzled when she sees my gift. I bet she's thinking; what good will sleep syrup do? Then it hits her.

She quickly mashes up some berries, and adds some mint leaves to the syrup. She then heads back to Peeta. "I've brought you a treat. I found a new patch of berries a little farther downstream."

Peeta swallows the first mouthful. "They're very sweet."

"Yes, they're sugar berries. My mother makes jam from them. Haven't you ever had them before?"

Peeta takes the second spoonful.

"No," he says. "But they taste familiar. Sugar berries?"

I think he's suspecting something…

"Well, you can't get them in the market much, they only grow wild," Katniss says. Another bite down. Only one left.

"They're sweet as syrup," Peeta says. He takes the last swallow. "Syrup." His eyes widen in realization, and he tries to vomit up the berries up, but Katniss is holding her hand over his mouth and nose. Even as he fades away into sleep, it's obvious to see the pain of betrayal in his eyes.

Katniss just sits back and takes a good look at him for a moment. Her voice is tinged with both regret and relief as she says,

"Who can't lie, Peeta?"

**I know I'm a little out of practice writing in Haymitch's POV, but the writing will improve, I promise. **

**Please, please review! Your feedback and thoughts really make my day when I read them, so por favor REVIEW!**


	12. The Feast

**Caisha702, if you are reading this, I used Lysandra's name for Foxface, kind of returning the favor for your Clove-centric story. I hope you don't mind too much...**

In the waning hours before dawn, Katniss begins to stealthily, cautiously make her way towards the Cornucopia, after of course having gotten all of her supplies together. And it also goes without saying, giving Peeta a long, drawn-out kiss good-bye as he sleeps.

She really is getting quite good at this whole star-crossed lover routine. All I can hope is that she and Peeta both survive the Games in order to explore a possible future together.

All around the arena, the remaining tributes are also traveling towards the Cornucopia. All except for one.

Because the red-haired girl from District 5, the one that Katniss calls Foxface, is already at the Cornucopia. And not so much _at_, but _inside_.

Though a part of me feels a bit envious, another side of me respects her cleverness and genuinely admires her. This girl will definitely have a prime position when the feast starts.

The mentor of District 5, Giya, says in a tone that is somewhere between gloating and commentating, "That's Lysandra for you. Always three steps ahead."

"It doesn't matter," Vikus of District 2 angrily retorts. "She's still no match for the combined force of Cato and Clove."

Siry of District 11 and I simply remain silent. We both have faith in our respective tributes.

The remaining time seems to pass in a blur, and when dawn comes, a table with four backpacks immediately clicks into place.

From the census taken recently, I know that the District 2 pack contains armor, the District 5 pack holds food, the 11 pack has surplus weapons, and of course, our own precious backpack safeguards the blood poisoning remedy inside.

No sooner than the table is set in place when Lysandra from District 5 darts from her hiding place inside the Cornucopia, scoops up her backpack, and jets off into the forest.

Giya applauds, while in the meanwhile Vikus lets out a loud curse.

I don't make any reaction to this, because I am too engaged with my own tribute. Because Katniss is the next one to place herself in grave danger by trying to reach the packs on the table.

Katniss takes off, relinquishing the cover of the tree line, sprinting as fast as she can towards the District 12 pack. But of course, it couldn't just be that easy.

Katniss is able to deflect the first knife with her bow, but the second blade thrown by Clove catches her directly in the forehead.

Vikus and I both tense up, but for very different reasons. Him because of the glee accompanying a kill about to be made by one of his tributes. Me, out of the fear for the life of Katniss.

Somehow, Katniss manages to send an arrow towards her assailant, but it's to no avail. Clove comes flying out of her cover and barrels into Katniss, knocking her flat on her back.

My throat is dry. My jaw is clenched. I sit absolutely rigid in my chair, wanting to look away so bad, but yet unable to do so. I owe it to Katniss to at least see how she dies.

For she most certainly will. This is it. When she dies here, Peeta will never get that much-needed medicine. I am facing the end of one the best chances District 12 has had to win in a very, very, long time.

All I can do is grit my teeth and watch.

"Where's your boyfriend, District Twelve?" Clove taunts. "Still hanging on?"

Never giving up, Katniss snarls, "He's out there now. Hunting Cato." Then she lets out a very convincing scream, a plea for help. "Peeta!"

Clove cuts her off by effectively crushing her windpipe, but it is easy to see that Clove is rattled. But since no Peeta appears, Clove reasons that Katniss must be lying.

"Liar," Clove says. "He's nearly dead. Cato knows where he cut him. You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going. What's in the pretty little backpack? That medicine for Lover Boy? Too bad he'll never get it."

Unable to contain himself any longer, Vikus exclaims, "Do it already Clove! What are you waiting for?"

I don't know why she's delaying either, but I'm certainly not complaining.

But it soon becomes clear of what method Clove will use to dispose of my tribute.

Clove opens up her jacket, revealing an impressive array of knives. Clove selects a thin knife with an extremely sharp, curved blade. Never letting up on her grip on Katniss, Clove says, "I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show."

"Forget it, District Twelve. We're going to kill you. Just like we did your pathetic little ally…what was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well first Rue, then you, and then I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?" Clove grins sadistically with anticipation. "Now…where to start?"

Katniss attempts to bite Clove's hand, but its no use. Clove grabs Katniss by the hair and forces her back to the ground. "I think…" Clove continues, almost purring. "I think we'll start with your mouth."

"Yes, I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?"

Clove is taken aback for a split second when Katniss defiantly spits in her face. Despite the certain impending death coming for Katniss, I can't help but feel a stirring of proud for her. She will never give up. She will always fight to the end.

Clove's surprise quickly turns into rage. "All right then. Let's get started," she says coldly.

And without further ado, the show begins. But as Clove is just tracing the first cut on the lips of Katniss, a great force plows her Clove, sending her sprawling to the earth.

That force is Thresh.

Siry lets out a whoop, and I join him. Even Giya smiles slightly. It is only Vikus who is fit to be tied at the moment, cheeks flushed red with rage. Pouting like a small child, he bursts out, "Why didn't she just get it over with? Look what happened!"

"Yeah, it's a real pity," Siry sarcastically comments.

Vikus opens his mouth to fire back at him, but Siry is saved from a scathing reply by the life-and-death drama unfolding on the screen.

Thresh is standing over Clove, shouting fiercely at her. "What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?"

Clove is scrambling backward on all fours, clearly frightened of Thresh. "No! No, it wasn't me!"

"You said her name. I heard you. You kill her?" Thresh aggressively asks. "You cut her up like you were going to cut up this girl here?"

"No! No, I—. Cato!" Clove loses it when she sees the heavy stone in Thresh's hand. "Cato!"

"Clove!"

But from the sound of his voice, Cato has badly misjudged his position. He is nowhere near Clove, unable to help her against this great titan, this behemoth.

Thresh brings down the rock on Clove's skull, leaving an unmistakable dent. Vikus sucks air in sharply when he sees this, because he knows: Clove does not have long to live.

But when Thresh whirls on Katniss, it is my turn once again to be on the hot seat. But I breathe a bit easier when he does not immediately attack her. Instead, he demands, "What'd she mean? About Rue being your ally?"

"I—I—we teamed up. Blew up the supplies. I tried to save her, I did. But he got there first. District One," Katniss blurts.

"And you killed him?" Thresh asks brusquely.

"Yes. I killed him. And buried her in flowers," she says with eyes glistening. "And I sang her to sleep."

I look briefly over at Siry. While he is trying to remain stoic, I can tell that this recount is not making things easier for him. And I'm also positive that like me, he's wondering if Thresh will actually go so far as to murder Katniss.

"To sleep?" Thresh asks gruffly.

"To death. I sang until she died," Katniss says, calmer now. Maybe something tells her that Thresh is willing to spare her life, some fragment of hope inside her. "Your district…they sent me bread."

Here Katniss pauses, to compose herself. Preparing herself for the worst possible fate. "Do it fast, okay, Thresh?"

Mixtures of emotions run across Thresh's face. He lowers the rock, and points his free hand at Katniss, saying, "Just this one time, I let you go. For the little girl. You and me, we're even then. No more owed. You understand?"

Katniss nods, like she does. I know that I do not. Owing is probably a common term in the sections of the Districts which Katniss and Thresh live, nothing like the area where myself or Peeta reside. I'd bet that Peeta would not know what Thresh means by owing either.

"Clove!" Cato yells. Much nearer now.

"You better run now, Fire Girl," says Thresh with just a hint of a smile.

Katniss does not need to be told twice. As she begins to flee the Cornucopia, she takes one final look back and sees Thresh doing the same with both large backpacks. Cato is kneeling down beside Clove, begging her to stay alive. Vikus is spewing all sorts of curses at Cato for his sentimental weakness and urging him to give pursuit. And after he realizes that Clove is a goner, he does so. After Thresh.

But Katniss is home-free. Or rather, cave-free.

I let out the breath I didn't even realize I had been holding. Once more, District 12 is safe and sound. In addition to that, the competition of District 2 has taken a big hit. My tributes now stand a much greater chance of making it home.

I turn to Siry. "Now I believe you. There really is more to Thresh than just brute strength."

Siry's look of happiness is yet one that is also plagued with worry. "Because Thresh took both packs, Cato will try his hardest to kill him next. I only hope that Thresh can put those weapons I sent him to good use."

Leaving District 11's worries behind for the mind, I concentrate on my own two tributes. Katniss is still bleeding from her head injury, but she miraculously makes it back to the small cave, opens the backpack obtained at the feast, pulls out a syringe, sticks it in Peeta's arm, and depresses the plunger.

Mission accomplished. Katniss and Peeta will both live to see another day.

And with her job done, Katniss falls into a blissful, well-earned unconsciousness.

**I'm thinking about two more chapters for this story. Almost at the end, not much more to go. Please let me know what you think in a review.**

**And please look at my story The Hunger Games Premiere, which I updated just yesterday. **


	13. Exploration Of Emotion

**Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter! Here is chapter thirteen!**

"Katniss, Katniss, can you hear me?"

These are the first words that Peeta says to Katniss as she is waking up.

Since Katniss had stumbled back to the cave, bleeding profusely from her head wound, nothing of note had occurred in the arena. Every tribute had for the most part remained in their respective lair, excluding Cato. It goes without saying that ever since the feast, he had been hunting for Thresh, in order to seek retribution for Clove's death.

But the Gamemakers are not helping much with Cato's quest. They have induced a heavy thunderstorm, making it that much harder to find another tribute. With poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions, it's a safe bet that Cato won't locate Thresh for some time.

At the sound of Peeta's anxious voice, Katniss's eyes slowly open. As she visibly attempts to orientate herself with her surroundings, she sees the face of- "Peeta."

"Hey," Peeta says. As he says this, he cannot help but break out in a smile. "Good to see your eyes again."

Katniss blushes slightly at this slight flirtatious comment. Well, that reaction is certainly better than a lot of other possible ones…

"How long have I been out?" she asks.

"Not sure," Peeta replies. "I woke up yesterday evening and you were lying next to me in a very scary pool of blood." He winces slightly at the memory. "I think it's stopped finally, but I wouldn't sit up or anything."

As Katniss yet stubbornly attempts to sit up, Peeta presses a water bottle to her lips.

"You're better," Katniss notes.

"Much better. Whatever you shot into my arm did the trick," Peeta answers. "By this morning, almost all the swelling in my leg was gone."

I know one thing Katniss is surprised at, and I know for a fact that I am as well, is why Peeta is not angry at Katniss for sneaking off to the feast. Perhaps it's because she is in such a weakened state right now, and he cannot bring himself to scold her.

Katniss and Peeta then discuss trivial things, such as hunting and the cold. But my interest is caught when Peeta remarks, "I wonder what brought on this storm? I mean, who's the target?"

"Cato and Thresh," Katniss muses. Smart girl.

She continues, "Foxface will be in her den somewhere, and Clove…she cut me and then…"

I glance over at Vikus. He seems for the most part to have moved on from Clove's death.

I shudder a bit involuntarily. What kind of person do you have to be to be so unaffected by the passing of a living, breathing human being? Though I did not care much for Clove, I would not wish her dead under normal circumstances. In a perfect world, she and the other twenty-three tributes who started these Games would be at home, relaxing, not having to worry about being selected in a Reaping or having enough to eat.

But sadly, this is not a perfect world.

Back in the cave where my tributes are making their refuge, Peeta says, "I know Clove's dead. I saw it in the sky last night. Did you kill her?"

"No," Katniss replies in a stronger voice. It seems as though she is doing her best to move on from the feast. "Thresh broke her skull with a rock."

"Lucky he didn't catch you too," says Peeta.

Here Katniss pauses. "He did. But he let me go." Then Katniss recounts the entirety of the feast to Peeta, ending with Thresh repaying the debt he 'owed' to Katniss.

"He let you go because he didn't want to owe you anything?" Peeta naturally questions in disbelief.

"Yes," Katniss answers. "I don't expect you to understand it. You've always have enough. But if you'd lived in the Seam, I wouldn't have to explain."

Which would be why I don't quite understand either. In the Victor's Village, there is always enough to go around. Thrice over.

"And don't try. Obviously I'm too dim to get it," Peeta says in a tone laced with sarcasm.

"It's like the bread. How I never seem to get over owing you for that," Katniss attempts to explain.

"The bread? What?" Peeta wonders aloud. Putting it together, he continues, "From when we were kids? I think we can let that go. I mean, you just brought me back from the dead."

"But you didn't know me. We had never even spoken. Besides, it's the first gift that's always the hardest to pay back. I wouldn't even have been here to do it if you hadn't helped me then. Why did you, anyway?"

Hmm. It seems that the people of the poverty-stricken communities bind together in order to aid each other through times of trial. They perform small acts of kindness for each other, collecting in turn a favor to repay. Through this system, the people of the Seam and other such neighborhoods have discovered that together, they are stronger.

Well, this is one of the few things that the Districts possess which the Capitol lacks.

"Why? You know why," Peeta answers. "Haymitch said you would take a lot of convincing."

"Haymitch? What's he got to do with it?"

I can't help but shake my head in disbelief. Katniss has still not put it together. She still does not see what is right in front of her.

She still does not realize that Peeta's love for her is genuine. That for him, it's not an act, not a sham. It's the real thing.

A short while later, Katniss drops off to sleep. By now, I know the times when I afford myself a bit of rest. This would be one of the times that qualify.

~/~/~/~/

This time, I awake of my own accord. No alert is required. For what seems like the first time in a long time, I shower, change into a fresh set of clothes, and even grab solid food to eat.

After my meal, I retrieve a bottle of whiskey from the pantry. I guess I'm not _that_ ready to let old habits die.

With bottle in hand, I make my way back to my monitor, just in time to hear Katniss say defensively, "I did do the right thing."

Ah. They must finally be having it out about the feast.

"No! Just don't, Katniss!" Peeta's sudden intensity surprises even me. "Don't die for me. You won't be doing me any favors. All right?"

"Maybe I did it for myself, Peeta, did you ever think of that? Maybe you aren't the only one who…who worries about…what it would be like if…"

Katniss trails off. She can't form the words necessary to express…express what?

I know exactly what. Her burgeoning feelings for Peeta.

I can't exactly encourage her aloud, for fear of giving away the act. But in my mind, I am all but shouting at her to compose the words that would express the true depth of her feelings.

"If what, Katniss?" Peeta asks softly.

"That's exactly the kind of topic Haymitch told me to steer clear of," Katniss evades.

"I said no such thing!" I exclaim out loud. "What is wrong with you?" Needless to say, I also add a few choice swear words directed her way for dropping the ball at this particular moment. At least my fellow mentors have the good grace not to laugh at what must be an extremely comical display of frustration.

"Then I'll just have to fill in the blanks myself," Peeta smoothly replies. He leans in to Katniss, and an unseen force inexplicably draws their lips together for a perfect kiss.

_Was that so hard, sweetheart?_

I check the sponsor monitor. Apparently, it was not perfect enough to be able to send any aid towards my tributes.

It would so as though the shallow, physical affections are wearing off on the Capitol. Very soon, the conversation will have to move towards deeper, personal emotions.

But it takes until the following evening for any such thing to take place. With Katniss and Peeta having been very inactive all day, I can only assume that Katniss has listened to the pleas of her stomach. I know her well enough to know that she will do anything to survive. Even if that includes jumping into uncomfortable situations.

"Peeta," Katniss begins lightly. "You said at the interview you'd had a crush on me forever. When did forever start?"

"Oh, let's see," Peeta replies in an equally light tone. "I guess the first day of school. We were five. You had on a red plaid dress and your hair…it was two braids instead of one. My father pointed you out when we were waiting to line up."

"You father? Why?"

"He said, 'See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner,'" Peeta explains.

"What? You're making that up!"

"No, true story," Peeta says. "And I said, "A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner if she could've had you?' And he said, 'Because when he sings…even the birds stop to listen.'"

I mentally give Katniss a pat on the back. Once again, her intuition has come through. She has realized what is necessary.

And another part of me has to wonder, does she think it is necessary, essential to survive? Is it all business for her? Or does another reason motivate her to get to know Peeta better, a reason perhaps based upon true love?

A question that can only be answered later.

"That's true. They do. I mean, they did," Katniss says.

Peeta continues, "So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, every bird outside the windows fell silent."

"Oh, please," Katniss replies, laughing.

"No, it happened. And right when your song ended, I knew – just like your mother – I was a goner. Then for the next eleven years, I tried to work up the nerve to talk to you."

"Without success," Katniss playfully adds.

"Without success," Peeta acknowledges. "So in a way, my name being drawn in the reaping was a real piece of luck."

"You have a…remarkable memory," Katniss says, almost as if unsure of her own words.

"I remember everything about you," Peeta replies. In their position sitting huddled together, tangled up in the one sleeping bag, he tucks a stray hair behind Katniss's ear, a tender display of affection. "You're the one who wasn't paying attention."

"I am now," Katniss says.

"Well, I don't have much competition here," Peeta tells her.

I can see Katniss drawing away, bringing up the mental barriers again. But this time she just simply cannot do that.

"Say it! Say it!" I exclaim.

She does. "You don't have much competition anywhere."

And once again, their lips meet. Only this time, I finally have something to send them.

They jump apart at the sound of the parachute touching down outside their cave. Peeta looks outside, sees the basket, and cheers. He brings back the food to Katniss, to see what I have sent them. Quite simply, the basket contains a feast.

But that feast has depleted all of my resources. From here on out, Katniss and Peeta are on their own.

"I guess Haymitch finally got tired of watching us starve," Peeta remarks as he looks over the contents of the parachute.

"I guess so," Katniss replies with a slight, knowing smile.

And as if to commend her for her efforts, I can't help but to mutter to myself, "Yes, _that's_ what I'm looking for, sweetheart."

**So, I thought that I would get alot farther with this chapter than I did. There is still alot of major material to cover, so I'm thinking now three more chapters for this story. An update of The Hunger Games Premiere is coming tomorrow, please check that out!**

**And as always, please review if you are reading this! Your opinions really do mean alot to me!**


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